Malawi Red Cross Society has launched the 2025/26 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme to help mitigate the food crisis affecting over four million people nationwide.
Speaking yesterday in Chileka, Blantyre, Red Cross president Innocent Majiya said the launch marked a significant step towards addressing food shortages in the country.
He said they are responding to President Peter Mutharika’s declaration of a State of Disaster in the country’s 28 district councils and four cities following a hunger crisis facing four million Malawians.
Said Majiya: “For now, we have started with K2.4 billion which will support 4 300 households in Blantyre, Chikwawa and Nsanje districts. Each household will receive K90 000 monthly from this month to March 2026.
“After the cash transfers, we plan to offer farm inputs such as sweet potato vines to mitigate the food crisis.”
On his part, Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) chief disaster preparedness officer Natasha Mbengo commended the support.
She said: “I urge you to use the money for the intended purpose. Buy food to find the energy to tend to your farms. You can also establish small-scale businesses to benefit more in the long-run.
“The money is neither for alcohol, gambling nor entertainment and it should not be a cause of violence and abuse in your families.”
Senior Chief Kuntaja hailed the timeliness of the intervention, saying the money will help households sustain themselves until the next harvest season.
“Many community members are still affected by the impacts of a series of disasters we have experienced over the past five years,” he said.
Meanwhile, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies coordinator of programmes and operations Vivian Tibone pledged continued support to Red Cross projects despite restricted funding.
“I appreciate the resilience that communities have shown in the face of disasters over the years. I hope that with this support, they will feel that our organisation is always with them,” he said.
The 2025 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report estimates that four million people will face severe food shortages during this lean season.
